Morpule — Botswana

Morpule is a 732 MW coal power station in Central, Botswana. It is operated by Botswana Power Corporation. Based on its capacity (estimated), it can supply roughly 916k homes (estimated). It ranks #2 of 12 Botswana power plants by installed capacity. Commissioned in 1986, it is around 40 years old — long-established. In context, coal supplies about 98.3% of Botswana's electricity; the national grid averages 851 gCO₂/kWh (0.3% low-carbon) (2024).

Plant data: WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0), id WRI1023017.

Capacity provenance

The public capacity above is the current source-record value. A 2026 tracker candidate lists 132 MW for Morupule A Power Station, but it is not used as the public primary value until scope is verified (unit vs operating vs installed/project total).

Data provenance

Capacity and fuel are the upstream open-dataset record, not yet matched to a 2026 registry or GEM entry.

capacity: WRI GPPD; fuel: WRI GPPD

In context: how this plant compares

At 732 MW, Morpule is well above the median coal plant in Botswana (600 MW). Technically it is described as subcritical. Coal plants burn pulverised coal to raise high-pressure steam for a turbine; they run as baseload but are the most carbon-intensive mainstream source and the first targeted for retirement or efficiency retrofits.

Capacity comparison computed from the WRI Global Power Plant Database; fuel-type context is general engineering background.

Key facts

Share of Botswana coal capacity

9.0% of 8,111 MW across 11 plants in this dataset

Calculated from the capacity and generation records in this dataset (WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0)).

Capacity vs largest coal plants in Botswana

Installed capacity (MW), WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0).

Owner

Operated by Botswana Power Corporation.

Local climate & thermal context

This coal plant burns coal to raise high-pressure steam that spins a turbine-generator. It sits in a hot semi-arid steppe climate (Köppen BSh) — Southern Hemisphere, latitude 22.5°S — which shapes how much energy it can produce and how its output varies through the year.

Monthly mean temperature

Heating degree-days here run 83% below the median power plant in this dataset — a proxy for how much extra energy heated equipment must replace through its surfaces in winter.

Climate heat-demand index: 19/100 — this site sits in the bottom third of the power plants we cover by heating degree-days.

Climate normals: WorldClim 2.1 (1970–2000 monthly normals, 10 arc-min, CC BY 4.0); zone: Köppen-Geiger world climate classification (Kottek et al. 2006, 0.5° grid). Degree-days & heat-demand index computed by PowerAtlas — a modelled heat-demand proxy, not a measured site figure.

Site climate & environmental severity

This site sits in a benign, low-corrosion environment (estimated ISO 9223 class C1 — Very low), with dust abrasion the leading environmental stress.

Indicative estimate via the ISO 9223:2012 informative method (atmospheric corrosivity from temperature, time-of-wetness and airborne salinity), using WorldClim climate normals, the Köppen-Geiger class and coast distance. Indicative, not a measured corrosion rate.

How it compares & nearby plants

The #2 largest coal power plant of 11 in Botswana by capacity.

Botswana has 11 coal power plants in this dataset, together about 8,111 MW of capacity.

Nearby power plants

• New Morupule power station · Coal · 615 MW · Central
• Morupule IPP · Coal · 600 MW · Central
• Sechaba power station · Coal · 300 MW · Central
• Vedanta power station · Coal · 600 MW · Limpopo
• Tom Burke Solar Park · Solar · 66 MW · Central
• CIC Domestic power station · Coal · 300 MW · Central

Location

Coordinates -22.5223, 27.0491 from WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0). View on OpenStreetMap.

Frequently asked questions